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Administrator Chosen to Run U.S. House

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October 24, 1992, Page 001007 The New York Times Archives

The bipartisan leadership of the House of Representatives, seeking to heal an institution wracked by a season of scandal, today appointed a professional administrator who will oversee the chamber's non-legislative functions.

The tasks of the new administrator, Lieut. Gen. Leonard P. Wishart 3d, retired, will include supervising the issuing of the lawmakers' paychecks and controlling most postal operations. In those roles he will replace the infamous House bank, which produced the year's biggest political imbroglio, and the internal post office that became enmeshed in additional controversy.

The administrator's office, which will handle many functions previously performed by politically chosen House officers, was established by a bill that lawmakers passed this year after the scandals. Speaker Thomas S. Foley and Representative Robert H. Michel spent months interviewing candidates for the job before they found one they could agree on.

Their choice is a 58-year-old Newark native and West Point graduate who holds a master's degree in nuclear physics from the University of Virginia. General Wishart served in Vietnam in 1966-67 and commanded the First Infantry Division from 1986 to 1988. His most recent military position was as deputy commander of the Army's training center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

A version of this article appears in print on October 24, 1992, on Page 1001007 of the National edition with the headline: Administrator Chosen to Run U.S. House. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe